Hospitalist/programmer in search of the meaning of life

Kids and Computers

Aug 15th, 2011

I’m sure it’s probably too early to worry about this, but I often
wonder about the best way to introduce Kavi and Anika to
computers. ‘Introduce’ isn’t the right word because even Anika has
more experience with computers than I did at that age. So far, though,
computers are something that Daddy and Mommy use to do work, not
things that are for them. We’ll show them a Sesame Street video on
YouTube or family pictures on Facebook, but they don’t spend any
significant amount of time on it. They’re easily entertained without
computers. I know that will change as they get older, but for now at
least, they prefer their toys and their imagination to TV or
computers. Even at their young age, that is rare.

The dilemma is that I do want them to learn about technology and learn
how to use it in their lives without being controlled by it. I don’t
see anything wrong with exposing them to things like computers, iPads,
YouTube, etc., as long as it is monitored. I just want it to be a
healthy portion of their leisure time, not all of it. So many
children’s entertainment options are spoon-fed propaganda. They are
meant to be passively enjoyed, and the child just sits and absorbs
it. The source of the content is often questionable. Advertisers for
big corporations or government trying to get their message to kids
either overtly or subtly.

I like my childhood experience. My first major exposure to computers
was an Apple IIe. There was nothing organized about it. I spent a
large majority of my time playing games, but those were just the
gateway drugs to get me to realize that there was much more power in
those machines. The entire experience was about tinkering. Trying
to figure out how it worked, how to make it work for me, how I could
make it do things. The most exciting days in my childhood were the
days that the inCider magazine arrived with pages of DOS code listings
in the back. Retyping those code listings, making alterations, trying
to figure out how things worked… that is much more healthy than just
watching a video over and over again. I, of course, was much older
than Kavi is now, so I’m not too worried. I just don’t want them to
get addicted to a certain concept of what technology is for, before
they have the skills to really take advantage of it.